Hangouts 7.0 Pops Up, Introduces Quick Reply and Save to Home Screen

Oh boy, a big Hangouts update is arriving on Android! It’s version 7.0.113001250 and it includes quick reply! I don’t know why I’m acting so excited, since this is still Hangouts we’re talking about, but this feature has been needed for far too long. It’s great to finally see it as it makes quickly replying to a conversation so easy and simple without interrupting what you are doing. Remember, Google Messenger received this functionality almost a year ago.

Anyways, the update started rolling out earlier today and one lucky dude grabbed it and uploaded the APK file for us to enjoy. We have that for you below.

Outside of quick reply (where you get to quickly reply through notifications on top of your current screen), you will now see an option tucked inside of the conversations menu that allows you to save the conversation to your home screen. As you can see in the screenshot below, I easily created an entire folder of conversations on my home screen. How useful is that?

The rest of the update includes minor UI tweaks that only the purest Material Design freak will notice. Enjoy!

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Is there a setting to toggle to activate the quick reply feature? Just downloaded Google messenger based on this article and all I get are message notification in the notification bar.

Wilmer F.

… …. Google should’ve just bought whatsapp. Hangouts lacks in so many ways

lionel

UGH!!! You can only save Hangouts conversations to home screen. You can’t save SMS conversations to home screen… SMH!!!!

Courtney Harris

I can’t find where to save conversations to homescreen..

Armaan Modi

Oh..now I know Tim’s full name.

Marc

Looks like Droid Life just found a new reader.

Armaan Modi

I’m a very old droid-life reader.

Armaan Modi

You can do these quick replies by using Floatify-Quick Replies.I use it for WhatsApp.

chris_johns

how about the option to send a flippin video…that would be greatttt…or how about the option to turn off peak, for those of us not on marshmallow yet?

legaceez

Finally I been asking for these two features forever!

LucasMonroe

But can you add captions to pictures that you send through another app’s share button?

Jeffrey Fazal

But the major drawback of hangout is quick battery drainage that I am facing on my LG G4. Hope this version have no bugs otherwise I very few time use Hangout as it crashed sometime and responsible for quick battery drainage I tested through this Micro USB Cable with Ammeter and Voltmeter: http://amzn.to/1PdysgD

Ilya Kolodiychik

Have a G4 also and use Hangout daily. No issues. You have some other issue.

Jeffrey Fazal

I think I need to check mine may be some other problem!

Paul Hansen

Higher dpi version popped up last night instead of the low res 480 that was available yesterday. This one is up to 640.

That says its for ARM64 devices. Most of us have 32-bit devices. Someone more technology knowledgeable correct me, but I believe only the current year flagships are ARM64 devices. I don’t think even my Moto Nexus 6 is ARM64.

Messenging on Android is a confusing mess, and it could be so much better. Hope this is a great year for consolidation/evangelism on Google’s part.

Johny Bravo

so is there option to send multiple pictures at once using hangouts already? I mean from gallery, when you are selecting multiple pictures, you can share them via FB, but not via hangouts…

Cory S

You can do it from wtihin the hangouts app

Johny Bravo

what if pictures are buried so deep in gallery, that it would take 3 years in hangouts to find them?

Cory S

Yeah, it’s not ideal. You can use the photos app though. It converts them to a shared link, but depending on if it is a MMS or hangouts that could be better.

Illegal_Ghost_Bikes

What are the battery and alarm widgets from? Awesome homescreen.

CW

Those are stock Android widget Settings shortcuts to battery and do not disturb in Android 6.0

SDisQue

Bluetooth support? ;(

Fred Walker

my hangouts works with my chevy 2012 which only works with phone only.

Jérôme Besnard

Same comment than for Inbox: I want a darn widget! Come on Google. “create a widget” should be on the beta.

Jahiker Rojas

Wallpaper?

Armaan Modi

IMMATERIALIS icon pack.

Art Ramirez

Can I just get an alternate app that will send using my GV number please? Add the functionality to Messenger or let others be able to send using my GV number. Textra and ChompSMS and others have so many more features….but can’t send using my GV number, only my carrier number.

sc0rch3d

this is why i went back to using my carrier number regularly and only use GV when traveling. pushbullet ftw!

YuCMi

Where is the quick share feature support for Android 6? Why Google, whyyyy???

Andy Hemp

Another thing I noticed is that there is a pop-in like animation when scrolling through recent pictures to send in the chat.

Armaan Modi

upvote dedicated to animations.

trixnkix637

Messenger > Hangouts

MrOrange645

Unless you use Google Voice, then Hangouts > Messenger

trixnkix637

I use Voice and can’t agree. It’s pretty obvious Google’s concentration is on Inbox and Messenger, sadly leaving Gmail and Hangouts in the dust.

I paid for Textra, which I find is a fine app, but I’m not sure if it’s a carrier limitation or textra limitation…but is there anyway for me to send an MMS (group chat) to more than 10 people at a time on my AT&T/Cricket LG G4? Does Google Messenger have that limitation? Or hangouts?

I’ll switch to all Google messaging if I can get around that limit (I often set up game nights, etc. and need to text a list of like 16 people).

I love Hangouts (use it exclusively with my brother because I find it has great GIF support)…

matt

have you heard about email? I don’t understand why so many like mms. We all have smartphones. So we all can get email notifications.

Ilya Kolodiychik

Group chats is still quicker and more efficient. Also, don’t know about you, but when there is an email chain with 40 responses at work, it’s a cluster f. Especially if said email program responds and puts things ‘in line’…you end up with half the conversation being a tiny strip because it’s been indented so many times.

matt

gmail seems to work okay for me. I just can’t stand when there are forty replies on my hangouts app and If I don’t read them immediately I have to scroll through.

Ilya Kolodiychik

Perhaps gmail is fine…I was basing my response on Outlook which we use at the office. It doesn’t indent, but it’s still a pain. Not to mention that if two people respond at the same time, you get two different emails and their responses aren’t in the same chain…you have to pick which one you want to respond to and keep the chain going.

MMS/Group chats is just must more streamlined and everything is in one conversation…unless you message more than 10 people…then every time someone responds it starts a new chain (which is why I asked if Hangouts/Messenger ignores that limit).

MrOrange645

Here’s what a conversation looks like on gmail. Theres eight emails in this chain. Without clicking the “8” to expand, and then clicking each individual email, which will still be a tab, I can’t see the whole convo. And if someone doesn’t reply to the latest email, holy crap, it screws it all up, cause you can’t just scroll down and read the whole chain. And Gmail makes you click on another button to see quoted text. So to read a gmail conversation, you have to make several clicks. Which sounds like is no different than your Outlook at work, which we also use.

So to ME at least, Hangouts is much more convenient for sending messages back and forth between two people or a group of people.

MrOrange645

I don’t understand why people use email? Haven’t they heard of MMS? We all have smartphone after all, so the MMS notifications come right to the phone.

matt

I guess you like mass notifications constantly pinging you relentessly. To each his own. Let me know how MMS works when one of the users is travelling overseas without a data plan.

Ilya Kolodiychik

In Textra, you can mute an entire conversation and see nothing. Part of the reason I use it because occasionally I’m added to a convo I don’t care for or don’t need to be a part of.

matt

hangouts can do this too, but then going back and reading inside the app is terrible imo compared to gmail.

Ilya Kolodiychik

Also, if traveling overseas without a data plan….wouldn’t email also be affected the same way as MMS? Both require data…

matt

wifi?

Ilya Kolodiychik

Textra, for example, supports MMS over WiFi if said carrier does as well. Just putting that out there.

MrOrange645

Hangouts also works over WiFi?

matt

not when receiving say a picture or a video though at least on VZW.

MrOrange645

It always worked for me on WiFi on VZW.

MrOrange645

And even in this case of a friend going overseas, which my friends never do (so again YOUR situation doesn’t apply to everyone, just YOU), you can always use gmail for pictures for that occasion, then switch back to messaging when they return. It doesn’t have to always be one thing or nothing. Sometimes we have to adapt. It’s painful, I know.

MrOrange645

Whether the notifications come through gmail or Hangouts, what’s the difference? Plus it won’t get lost in the fifty promotional emails I get a day. I like an app dedicated to quick conversations where the whole message is presented on one scrolling page, rather than having to flip back to old emails to read those replies. If it works for you, that’s great. But others have their own reasons for preferring MMS and messaging services. Your way is not the best way for everyone.

CW

Yes, this is a carrier limit of AT&T; I think Verizon is around 18 or so. They have these limits to, in their reasoning, combat spam and the like.

i9

This is awesome.

ilovetechnology

Well maybe Google really will pull SMS out of hangouts…this is the first thing this new version showed me.

James

Yep, I’m shocked this wasn’t mentioned in the article. Isn’t Google trying to push people from Hangouts to Messenger (potentially) much bigger news than quick reply, which should have been added ages ago? Especially on the heels of the report that SMS might be dropped from Hangouts?

MrOrange645

Maybe cause you can just dismiss it and carry on as usual?

Cory S

It’s the implication of what their road plan is more so than anyone saying it is limiting functionality.

Art Ramirez

Is the SMS functionality no longer there? I use GV for all my messages and wouldn’t want to have to use Messenger to send SMS as it means having to send using my carrier number instead of the GV number that I use with everyone I’m in contact with. Thanks.

ilovetechnology

It’s still there for now.

Cael

This doesn’t appear for everyone.

morgan boyle

i seen it!

Rocketdaddy

Nice. Hangouts has been awesome but just got better. I have family all over the planet and Google Voice, video hangouts, SMS and MMS work nicely for my needs. Replying from the notification is great. I must confess that I don’t see how you saved conversations to the home screen though. Care to share the steps?

Kyle

Does anyone have a link for that wallpaper?

Armaan Modi

Included in IMMETERIALIS icon pack,by sikebo.

MrOrange645

Does this fix the problem with not receiving new messages/delayed messages when connected to WiFi? Cause that’s the number one thing I’d like to see fixed.

Jprime

And i just today went back from hangouts to messenger!!! Bah!!!!

Armaan Modi

lol

JLV90

7 on Android before iOS? Inconceivable

Ilya Kolodiychik

Trolling? Why would iOS get it first?

MrOrange645

Cause with the last few major updates, iOS got the updates and new features before the Android counterpart. Sometimes months in advance.

Ilya Kolodiychik

Interesting. If that’s really the case, that’s f’in BS man lol. Android should get ALL of Google’s work first for EXTREMELY obvious reasons.

MrOrange645

Why?

Ilya Kolodiychik

Why not? Why is it unreasonable to expect that Google support it’s apps on the OS that it created first and foremost before supporting apps on an OS that Google’s primary customers don’t use?

Android OS customers should be Googles primary concern…because what happens when Google forgets about an app or two for a long time and people get ‘turned off’ from Google (hypothetical)? They leave for iOS (hypothetical). Thus, less Android users, thus less market share, thus less money.

At least, that’s how I think of it.

JLV90

iOS usually gets hangout updates before android does, I know for sure they got 6.0 and 6.1 first

Willeminx

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

yeah, sorry. I should have just googled myself. Found that right after.

ScoobySnack

Can I delete individual messages?

Shane C.

SMS, not hangout messages

ArrTooDeeToo

Does it still suck on tablets?

Suicide_Note

It sucks on phones *and* tablets.

Ilya Kolodiychik

I don’t get why people say hangouts sucks. I actually think it’s not much worse than Textra and Textra is a widely accepted great messaging app.

Ricky Giordano

Finally back to hangouts I go!!! Was using Google messenger for a bit just for the faster smoother experience and ofc quick reply but back to give hangouts another shot

Chris

Still no video support… Smh

El_Big_CHRIS

My god yes. Idk why the only development working on hangouts hasn’t been able to include this along with so many other features already. It’s like, is Google even paying the guy? Or is he just an intern…

YuCMi

I’m pretty sure like one person works on Hangouts at Google. This update hasn’t even added quickshare for Android 6.0. Time to wait another year.

Erick Wright

Google needs to switch the guy from the iOS team he had video sharing on his port of apps for iOS for at least 2 years

Unfortunately Textra still has Hangouts beat by a mile. Smfh! I really wanted to like Hangouts

Guest

i have been trying textra but now its telling me my promo is over and im gonna have ads? I havent seen the cost to pay yet but I hope it isnt a premuim monthly charge.

Nick

Nah it’s a one time charge, and it’s worth it to support an active dev. The one downside is that they’ve been hesitant to implement global contact colors (you have to set a color for the same contact in every thread they’re in, otherwise it just uses the default scheme), but It’s the only messaging program that will consistently work with MMS on my T-Mobile Moto X

Really? They charged me $2.89. Not that I mind – it’s a good app and so far the only app that can handle group MMS without problem. I actually prefer Messenger but unfortunately it chokes on group MMS for me just like the stock app :-/

Charlie

i tried Textra for a while, but went back to Evolve SMS. i prefer Evolve’s UI and themeing. however, on MM, Evolve has been pretty inconsistent with regard to MMS. Maybe i should give Textra another shot?? No issues with integrating with MM??

You know you would’ve had to select the option to combine those right?

Cael

yet… lol

nachofrand

What do you use Google Voice for? I don’t understand the hype. I got it back in the day when people were paying $1 for google voice invites on Ebay. I have a Google Voice number and never, ever use it. Please enlighten me

Gautham Sivakumar

Well, I pay $30 a month to T-Mobile for 100 minutes, Unlimited SMS and 5GB of data. So essentially, I connected my T-Mobile # to Google Voice, and ALWAYS hand out my GV#. So whenever I want to text/call I use my GV #, and therefore, especially for calling, essentially get unlimited minutes.

The benefit here is that while I am at my desk at work, I have wifi, and can make wifi calls & texts. I also live in an area surrounded by LTE coverage. So the moment I walk outside, I still have the ability to make calls with data using hangouts. Then when I’m home on wifi, I can continue using my GV number with hangouts while making calls.

In essence, I get unlimited everything, and my data is only used up on the 15-20 minute commute every day to & from work. By the end of the month, I usually still have about 1-2 GBs left.

matt

when I reply on my hangouts app on my desktop the receiver thinks its from my phone. This among many other reasons already stated is why I love GV.

Cory S

I had no idea how much I relied on that until I started a job which blocked hangouts.

MacNificent

Unlimited calls. same number no matter which carrier you go with because its GV not your mobile carrier. You can give this number out because even if you decide to go carrier-less and you have access to wifi you can still make and receive calls.

Art Ramirez

This.

matt

exactly!

MrOrange645

It was especially handy when I was trying out TMo, but didn’t want to give up Verizon until I knew I would be happy. Ported my VZW number (which I’ve had for 15yrs) to GV, then there was no having to explain to ppl why I was calling from a different number. Worked just the same when I went to Canada for a week.

Also, after my wife died, I started a Gmail account for our 6yo daughter, and ported my wife’s number to her GV account. That way when she’s old enough for a cell phone, she can have Mommy’s number, and she can always keep it no matter which carrier she goes to.

nachofrand

First off all I’m sorry to hear about your wife, that’s terrible. Thanks for the response. I just switched from Verizon to T-Mobile and I was able to keep my number. As far as I’m concerned, numbers tied down to carriers is a thing of the past.

So, to my understanding, using a Google Voice number saves money mainly. Since I’m on a family plan, I pay 30$ a month for unlimited talk text and with 10 gigs of data. So my Google voice number is mainly pointless right?

MrOrange645

Depends on why you want it. I don’t want to have to port it each time I change carriers. Being tied down to a carrier period is a thing of the past. Being tied down to your phone number is not.

When you port a number, there’s that day or two that you have to carry both phones, cause you don’t know when the port is complete. You may receive calls on one phone, but have to call out on the other. Will texts come through? Who knows. I’m done with that. Now I just exclusively use Google Voice.

Plus, with your carrier number, your text messages aren’t saved, unless you purposely back them up. GV automatically saves and syncs my text messages to each device, through each factory reset. As well as my call history. It saves and transcribes my voicemail and works as a free visual voicemail. The transcription has improved dramatically by the way.

Also, since GV syncs my text messages across all devices, it doesn’t matter if I have my tablet, my personal phone, my company iPhone, or my laptop. I can send text messages and MMS from my GV number without downloading any additional apps.

For me its not about saving money, cause I have unlimited everything. It’s about convenience and integration.

nachofrand

Thanks for the explanation. Just so you know, I just switched to TMo and I kept my Verizon number and the process took 5 minutes.

matt

another reason that is not really easily seen is the spam blocker. I get practically zero calls from telemarketers and spammers.

MrOrange645

Wait he uses MESSENGER. Maybe the allcaps makes a difference. Like if you yell slowly at a foreigner, they can then understand English. O.o

Gautham Sivakumar

Except that I’m not a foreigner. I was born in the US.

MrOrange645

Me too. Weird. Maybe he meant if you type real slow and loud into the Messenger app it works with GV.

MrOrange645

I also use Google Voice. My chief complaint is if i use “Ok Google” to send a text, it sends it from my carrier number, not my Google Voice number.